HESTIA ━ marvel

0.9 | PINOCCHIO

THE NIGHT SLOWLY wore on, and the most the guests had left. Before they knew it, the only people remaining were Anastasiya, Natasha, Steve, Bruce, Tony, Clint, Thor, Rhodey, Maria, and Helen.

"But it's a trick!" Clint complained, spinning something between his fingers.

"No, no, it's much more than that," Thor implied, handing something over to Steve who was sat next to him.

Anastasiya was sat next to Natasha, who was chatting to Bruce. All the adults had some form of alcohol but the teenager simply had a large glass of lemonade.

"Ah, so whosoever be he worthy shall haveth the power," Clint imitated, and Anastasiya chucked, amused. "Whatever man! It's a trick."

Thor gestured over to his hammer, which was on the table next to him. "Please, be my guest."

"Really?"

"Yeah," someone said, Clint getting up from his seat and walking over to where the hammer was placed. Suddenly, everyone's private conversations stopped as everyone turned to look at the scene unfolding in front of them.

"Oh this is gonna be beautiful."

"Clint, you've had a tough week, we won't hold it against you if you can't get it up," Tony remarked, making everyone laugh.

"You know I've seen this before, right?" Clint added, as he clutched the hammer in his hand. Thor simply nodded and smirked at him.

No matter how hard he pulled, it wouldn't budge. "I still don't know how you do it."

"Smell the silent judgement?"

"Please, Stark, by all means!" Clint called.

"Okay." Tony put his drink down on the table as he got up. "Never one to shrink from an honest challenge. It's physics." the man said, whilst wrapping his hand around the handle. "Right, so if I lift it I then rule Asgard?"

"Yes of course." Once again, no matter how hard he pulled, it couldn't be lifted. "I'll be right back."

He returned minutes later with one of his repulsers, but even then it still wouldn't lift. He even got Rhodey to try to help him, but still, no movement. "Are you even pulling?" Rhodey asked. "Are you on my team?" Tony shot back. "Just represent, pull!" Anastasiya couldn't help but laugh at the pairs antics.

Next it was Bruce's turn, but he couldn't lift it either.

"Go ahead Steve. No pressure." The super soldier rolled his sleeves up as he walked over. "Come on Cap," Tony called. But it still wouldn't lift.

"Anastasiya? Your turn," Steve told her. "I think I'll sit this one out, thanks Steve," she smirked. Bruce then pointed at Natasha, who then responded, "Oh, no, no. I'm with Anastasiya with this one. That's not a question I need answered."

"All deference to the man who wouldn't be king, but it's rigged," Tony said, taking a sip of his beer. "You bet your ass," Clint added.

"Steve, he said a bad language word!" Anastasiya pointed out, pointing at the archer.

"Did you tell everyone about that?" He asked Tony. "The handles imprinted, right? Like a security code. "Whosoever is carrying Thor's fingerprints" is I think the literal translation."

"Yes. It's a very interesting theory, but I have a simpler one - you're all not worthy," the god said, getting up and picking up the hammer in his right hand, swinging it around.

"What a show off," Anastasiya muttered, taking a sip of her drink.

"I heard that, Miss Maximoff." Anastasiya just raised her eyebrow at him as she drank.

Suddenly, a loud sound could be heard, scaring everyone in the room.

"Worthy. No. How could you be worthy? You're all killers," a voice came, and Anastasiya jumped up from her seat just like everyone else. She turned around to see one of Tony's iron legion bots, but it was all broken and destroyed.

"Stark..."

"Jarvis?"

"I'm sorry, I was asleep," the robot simply replied.

"Tony what's happening?" Anastasiya asked. "Or I was a-dream."

"There was this terrible noise," the robots voice came again, as it almost went to scratch it's head. "And i was tangled in... in... strings. I had to kill the other guy. He was a good guy."

Everyone in the room was confused. Anastasiya looked over at Natasha, who shook her head at her slowly, telling her not to do anything.

"You killed someone?" Steve asked the robot.

"Wouldn't have been my first call. But down in the real world, we're faced with ugly choices."

"Who sent you?" Thor asked.

"I see a suit of armour around the world." Tony's voice from days ago echoed around the room like it was a cave.

"Ultron," Anastasiya realised.

"In the flesh. Or no, not yet. Not this chrysalis." Thor got his hammer ready, and Anastasiya heard Maria's gun cock quietly. "But I'm ready. I'm on mission."

"What mission?"

"Peace in our time." There was a sudden crash, and several sparks as many iron legion bots flew into the room, destroying the walls. Steve kicked the table in front of him, but he got flung across the room.

Maria and Natasha shot at the bots, and Anastasiya was sending large blazes of fire, trying not to set the room alight as she did so. Clattering noises could be heard as Thor swung his hammer round, metal on metal as it hit the targets. People were being flung across the room as the glass shards present on the floor threatened to cut them.

One of the bots grabbed the sceptre, as Steve jumped on top of one, fighting it in mid air. Anastasiya proceeded to send large sparks up at the metal bots.

"We are here to help... we are here... to help..." the metallic voice started to fade away. Out of the corner of her eye, Anastasiya saw a bot approaching Helen Cho, and rushed over, trying not to slip on the glass shards scattered all over the floor. She pounced on it from behind, landing on its back, pressing her hands against its head. It became hot, and began to melt, parts of it turning black.

"Thank you," Dr Cho said to her, and Anastasiya gave her a warm smile, nodding at her, and then ran off to help fight the last one. Finally, it fell to the floor, dead.

"That was dramatic. I'm sorry, I know you mean well. You just didn't think it through. You want to protect the world but you don't want it to change." Anastasiya walked over to Ultron, her hands on fire, and her eyes glowing amber, the rest of the team behind her. "How is humanity saved, if it's not allowed to evolve? With these? These puppets. There's only one path to peace. The Avengers extinction." Anastasiya threw several fire balls at the monster, knocking it to the ground.

"I had strings, but now I'm free," it said, before the blue lights in its eyes flickered and died.

"There are no strings on me..."

A/N I'm going to try speed up the story a bit because I'm already on chapter 9 and we're only on the party scene and I don't really want it to be like anymore than 20 chapters tbh but I'll see what I can do